Liberty United

Inspired to take action after the recent surge in gun violence, the first chapter of Liberty United, a student-lead organization, was formed in Edmonds Woodway.

Peter Thum is the founder of Liberty United and the co-founder of Fonderie 47, a company that transforms weapons from Africa into high quality, elegant jewelry. Mr. Thum believes that spreading awareness and taking initiative in resolving this problem is the responsibility of every high school student. Liberty United will send a call for action to inspire every high school in every state to join in the movement against gun violence.

David Quinn, the co-founder of Liberty United, also views this chapter as the first step towards an enduring and unprecedented movement in eliminating gun violence in schools.

The club is constantly looking for new members. Admission entails two steps. Members are first given a link to an online training website which takes around 20-30 minutes to complete. Next, a current member provides in-person training. The online training teaches students core skills that can be applied to everyday situations and interactions, teaching students to identify signs before they morph into threats. After members finish the online training, the in person training ensures that the material covered was completely understood by the new members and will be applied to real life scenarios.

Once members are done with this process, they get a new bracelet, called “armwear for action,” from the Liberty United Company. As more students wear them, the chapter gets bigger and the message is spread even further. Quinn hopes to see Liberty United grow 2500 members from all across the 50 states in the next couple of years, saying “Liberty United will be the biggest club in the US”.